Overseas baseball is back!

Tokyo Sox

Baka Gaijin
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Feb 16, 2006
6,132
There
Yes, Kevin Chen is the answer to the trivia question, who hit the first regular season home run in pro baseball in 2020?

A couple of the games also featured mannequin and robot fans dressed in home team shirts.
 

SydneySox

A dash of cool to add the heat
SoSH Member
Sep 19, 2005
15,605
The Eastern Suburbs
I'm a Uni-President 7-11 Lions guy, myself. Got my Boof Bonser jersey.

We hold the records as the team with the most wins, home runs, and Taiwan Series titles throughout its history. So, basically, come at us, bros.

I hate the Elephants! Boo the Elephants. We have a long lasting rivalry going back to 1993.

Fucking Elephant jerks.
 

Awesome Fossum

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
3,896
Austin, TX
I'm partial to the Monkeys only for their brilliant cardboard fans idea:

View: https://twitter.com/GOCPBL/status/1248192690124025857


Cardboard fans are coming to Rakuten Monkeys' home games! For roughly $200 USD, fans (group of 4) can submit their photos and have their cardboard cutouts to appear in the stands. According to the team, the new cardboard fans will make their #CPBL debut on April 17.
 

Manuel Aristides

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 7, 2009
224
Monkeys win in the bottom of the twelfth inning on a walkoff home run, and friends, I clapped my hands and yelled when he hit it.
 

Mugsy's Jock

Eli apologist
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 28, 2000
15,069
UWS, NYC
Me, I've been a fan of the Brothers Elephants since attending a game there a few years ago. Deeply recommend signing up for their Facebook site to receive game updates, which when Google-translated to English are super-entertaining...
⚾ in one round, huang enzheng gao guo hui to solve the crisis of losing points in one round
https://youtu.be/dFpPoO0gvco
 
⚾ in the first game, Wang Weichen is far-reaching, easy to stand on second base.
https://youtu.be/khJ0irW2eHw
 
⚾ fubon failed to run tactics in the second round, Zhe Lin was stabbed on second base
https://youtu.be/aNsp_k3jm8A
 
⚾ in the second round, gao yujie's far-reaching high flying ball, sending his teammates to the rd base
https://youtu.be/Bgu-Z6ZdKjM
 
⚾ under the third round, stealing and fight, no one in ccitic is out to take the second third base
https://youtu.be/SGsw4JnnIcI
 
⚾ in three games, su weida knocked out rolling earth, the wild man chose to catch second base runner, citic strikes to catch the equals
https://youtu.be/a0jYBZ22jwk
Also so weird to see cheerleaders perform without any fans there. Entertaining...but weird.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHAGdGSHRnk&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2eIg5q25L6n-OatQqcU2-n3NSZ3YqXwZ8cT5JWmp41-D-CtjIbAkFfJAU
 
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The Gray Eagle

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2001
16,724
Thanks for these links! Fun stuff.
I'm a little disappointed that they let the hitters step out of the box after every pitch, just like MLB. I was hoping they'd play faster. But still fun to watch some baseball.
 

staz

Intangible
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 2, 2004
20,659
The cradle of the game.
If the COVID-caused pause of MLB somehow leads to 30 MLB teams incorporating cheerleaders into the fan experience, it may damn well be worth the wait.

My mind's eye sees loooong red stockings...
 

staz

Intangible
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 2, 2004
20,659
The cradle of the game.
Final: Monkeys 12 Guardians 9

Pretty slick production, replay reviews, etc. No fans, everyone wearing masks except players, managers and umps.

30112
 

Awesome Fossum

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
3,896
Austin, TX
Update on KBO potentially landing on ESPN:

Spoke to a couple of sources re: #KBO on #ESPN. They said ESPN, in addition to asking for free rights, wanted to do monthly deals. ESPN's plan was to go month by month and then drop KBO altogether when/if MLB resumed. There was feeling of being disrespected at KBO, I'm told
View: https://twitter.com/Jeeho_1/status/1253234413837549572


Thanks, ESPN. Definitely the time to be low-balling the only live sports leagues on earth.

CPBL Twitter streams should be returning first week of May, I believe. The Guardians will be having their home games streamed in addition to the Monkeys.
 

Orel Miraculous

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 16, 2006
1,710
Mostly Airports and Hotels
Two former big leaguers going against each other now on an English-language broadcast: Esmil Rogers for the ChinaTrust Brothers and Henry Sosa for the Guardians (ok, calling Sosa a big leaguer is somewhat misleading). In addition to the Manny Ramirez connection and Che-Hsuan Lin, Fubon also has Chih-Hsien Chiang playing third. They seem to be struggling out the gate here a bit, but if you're a Sox fan looking for a team to follow, seems like the Guardians should be the one.

View: https://twitter.com/FubonGuardians/status/1253896516131061763
 

Orel Miraculous

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 16, 2006
1,710
Mostly Airports and Hotels
And Lin just blasted a homer to left to make it 3-1 Brothers. Lin's hitting third and playing CF and seems to be doing really well over there. He was outstanding in 2016, hitting 22 homers with a 1.004 OPS, and he's slashing 314/423/500 so far this year.
 

Awesome Fossum

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
3,896
Austin, TX
KBO to ESPN seems to be gaining momentum:

The U.S. sports media giant ESPN is nearing a deal to broadcast South Korean baseball games to its American audience this season, an industry source told Yonhap News Agency on Monday.

The source, who requested anonymity because the deal wasn't finalized as of Monday afternoon, said ESPN could air multiple Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) games per week. The exact duration of the deal and proposed financial terms weren't immediately clear.
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20200427008600315?section=sports/sports